Chapter 2
FORCES
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Contents
Forces
Types of forces
Mass and weight
Forces and motion
Friction
Levers and Moments
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What is a force?
A force is a push, pull, or twist. A force cannot be seen
but you can see how a force affects an object.
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What type of force?
What type of force is involved in each action?
• Writing on paper Push
• Typing on a keyboard Push
• Tug-of-war Pull
• Unscrewing the top off a bottle Twist
• Posting a letter through a door Push
• Putting on a pair of socks Pull
• Turning a door handle Twist
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Contact and non-contact forces
When two objects or materials need to be touching for
a force to have an effect, it is a contact force.
Examples: l friction
l air resistance
l tension
l compression
l elastic
When two objects or materials do not need to be touching
for a force to have an effect, it is a non-contact force.
Examples: l gravitational
l electrostatic
l magnetic
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Different types of forces
What is the definition of each force?
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Contents
Forces
Types of forces
Mass and weight
Forces and motion
Friction
Levers and Moments
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Mass and weight
Mass and weight are not the same!
mass = 1 kg 1 kg
weight = 10 N
Mass is the amount of Weight is a force due to
matter in an object. the pull of gravity on an
The mass of an object is object.
always the same, wherever The weight of an object
it is in the Universe, will vary depending on
including outer space. where it is in the Universe.
The units of mass are The units of weight are
kilograms (kg). newtons (N).
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Mass and weight – true or false?
Are these statements about mass and weight true or false?
False
False
True
False
True
True
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Contents
Forces
Types of forces
Mass and weight
Forces and motion
Friction
Levers and Moments
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Force diagrams
A force diagram uses arrows to show the forces acting on
an object.
l The direction of each arrow shows you the direction
of each force.
l The size of each arrow can be used to compare the
sizes of the forces.
air
resistance
What is the force diagram
for this falling object when
it first starts to fall?
weight
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Forces on still objects
What forces are acting on Mel’s computer?
The computer is pulled
downwards by the force
of gravity and causes weight
it to have weight.
reaction
The table exerts an force
equal and opposite
force pushing upwards
on the computer. This is
called the reaction force.
These forces are balanced so the computer does not move.
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Forces on a swimming fish
What forces are acting on this fish as it swims?
weight
thrust friction
upthrust
Upthrust is a force that pushes an object upwards in a
liquid or a gas, also called buoyancy.
Thrust is a force that pushes an object forward. It is
produced by using its tail.
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Forces on a moving aircraft
What forces are acting this moving air craft?
weight
thrust drag
lift
Flight Condition Motion Effect
Lift > Weight Plane Rises
Weight > Lift Plane Falls
Drag > Thrust Plane Slows
Thrust > Drag Plane Accelerates
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
• Movement : Unbalanced
• Net Force : 20 N
• Direction of Motion : down
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
• Movement : Balanced
• Net Force : 0 N
• Direction of Motion : none
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
• Movement : Unbalanced
• Net Force : 5 N
• Direction of Motion : left
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
6N 3N
• Movement : Unbalanced
• Net Force : 9 N
• Direction of Motion : right
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
4N 5N
• Movement : Unbalanced
• Net Force : 1 N
• Direction of Motion : left
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Balanced or unbalanced forces?
What is the effect of each pair of forces?
2N
5N
4N
• Movement : Unbalanced
• Net Force : 1 N
• Direction of Motion : right
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Contents
Forces
Types of forces
Mass and weight
Forces and motion
Friction
Levers and Moments
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What is friction?
If you rub your hands
together they get warm.
There is resistance to
the rubbing motion.
What is the name of this
resistive force called?
It is called friction.
What causes this force?
Your hands might look smooth, but on a microscopic level
they have rough surfaces. So when you rub your hands
together you feel the resistive force of friction.
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In which direction does friction act?
Friction always acts in the opposite direction to which
an object is moving.
An object will only start to move if the forces applied to it
are greater than any frictional forces.
What is the direction of friction acting on each moving ball?
friction
friction
friction
friction
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Less or more friction?
The smoother the two forces are, the less friction there
is between them; therefore, the moving object will not
slow down as quickly.
The greater force pushing the two forces together, the
more friction prevents the surfaces from moving.
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Contents
Forces
Types of forces
Mass and weight
Forces and motion
Friction
Levers and Moments
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Undoing a tight-fitting lid
Bottle opener
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Undoing a bolt
Spanner
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Cracking a nut
Nutcracker
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Removing a nail from a piece of wood
Hammer
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Lever
• A lever is a tool that help us do things more
easily.
• Levers reduce the force needed to perform
these tasks.
• Examples of simple levers include cutting with
scissors, or lifting the lid on a tin of paint with
a screwdriver.
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Force and rotation – a moment
The left-hand side of the see-saw moves downwards when
a force is applied to it – this is an anti-clockwise turn.
pivot
The turning effect of a force
is called a moment.
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Force and rotation – a moment
The right-hand side of the see-saw moves downwards
when a force is applied to it – this is a clockwise turn.
pivot
The turning effect of a force
is called a moment.
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Principle of moments
pivot
“If the anticlockwise moment and clockwise moment are equal" then the
see-saw is balanced. This is known as the principle of moments.
When something is balanced about a pivot:
total clockwise moment = total anticlockwise moment
So, the forces on an object must obey two conditions to keep the object
completely stationary:
1. The forces must be balanced.
2. The moments must be balanced.
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Moment equation
The moment of a force is given by the equation:
Moment = force (N) x distance from pivot (cm or m)
Moments are measured in Newton centimetres (Ncm) or
Newton metres (Nm).
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Moment calculation
Gina weighs 500 N and stands on one end of a see-saw.
She is 0.5 m from the pivot.
What moment does she exert?
moment = 500 N x 0.5 m
= 250 Nm
0.5 m
500 N
pivot
T
h
e
pi
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Moment calculation
Gina masses 50 kg and stands on one end of a see-saw.
She is 0.5 m from the pivot.
What moment does she exert?
force = 50 kg x 10 m/s2 (gravity)
= 500 N
moment = 500 N x 0.5 m
0.5 m = 250 Nm
500 N
pivot
T
h
e
pi
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Principle of moments – calculation
Is the see-saw balanced or unbalanced?
John is 0.5 m from the pivot, Peter is 1 m from the pivot.
Moment of John = 700 N x 0.5 m Moment of Peter = 500 N x 1 m
= 350 Nm = 500 Nm
Both moments are NOT equal and so the see-saw is
NOT balanced and turns clockwise.
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Principle of moments – calculation
Is the see-saw balanced or unbalanced?
John is 1 m from the pivot, Peter is 1.4 m from the pivot.
Moment of John = 700 N x 1 m Moment of Peter = 500 N x 1.4 m
= 700 Nm = 700 Nm
Both moments are equal and so the see-saw is balanced.
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Principle of moments – calculation
Is the see-saw balanced or unbalanced?
John is 0.4 m from the pivot, Peter is 0.56 m from the pivot.
Moment of John = 700 N x 0.4 m Moment of Peter = 500 N x 0.56 m
= 280 Nm = 280 Nm
Both moments are equal and so the see-saw is balanced.
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Principle of moments – calculation
Is the see-saw balanced or unbalanced?
John is 1.2 m from the pivot, Peter is 1 m from the pivot.
Moment of John = 700 N x 1.2 m Moment of Peter = 500 N x 1 m
= 840 Nm = 500 Nm
Both moments are NOT equal and so the see-saw is
NOT balanced and turns anti-clockwise.
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Principle of moments – calculation
Two girls are sitting on opposite sides of on a see-saw.
One girl weighs 200 N and is 1.5 m from the pivot. Where
must her 150 N friend sit if the seesaw is to balance?
When the see-saw is balanced:
total anticlockwise moment = total clockwise
150 N x distance = 200 N x 1.5m
150 N x distance = 300 N
distance = 2m
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Why don’t cranes fall over?
Tower cranes are essential at any major construction site.
trolley
load arm
counterweight
loading platform
tower
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Why don’t cranes fall over?
Using the principle of moments, when is the crane balanced?
3m
6m
? 10000 N
moment of = moment of
load counterweight
If a 10,000 N counterweight is 3 m from the tower,
what weight can be lifted when the loading platform is 6 m
from the tower?
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Why don’t cranes fall over?
Using the principle of moments, when is the crane balanced?
3m
6m
? 10000 N
moment of = moment of
load counterweight
Force of load x distance of load = Force of counterweight x distance of counterweight
Force x 6 m = 10000 N x 3 m
Force x 6 m = 30000 Nm
Force = 30000 Nm ÷ 6 m
3181
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